Currently, angioplasty balloons are used to open calcified lesions in the wall of an artery. However, as an angioplasty balloon is inflated to expand the lesion in the vascular wall, the inflation pressure stores a tremendous amount of energy in the balloon until the calcified lesion breaks or cracks. That stored energy is then released and may stress and injure the wall of the blood vessel.
Electrohydraulic lithotripsy has been typically used for breaking calcified deposits or “stones” in the urinary or biliary track. Lithotripsy electrodes may similarly be useful for breaking calcified plaques in the wall of a vascular structure. Shock waves generated by lithotripsy electrodes may be used to selectively fracture a calcified lesion to help prevent sudden stress and injury to the vessel or valve wall when it is dilated using a balloon. It may therefore be useful to find improved ways to form shock waves in a balloon.